Game Talk

a simple guide to parental controls on consoles

Since school holidays are starting for many families, I thought I would share what I set up for my nephew, who stays with us in summer.

Every major console and PC store has a family or parental section in its settings. The useful parts are: daily play time limits, age ratings so the store hides games above a certain rating, spending limits or approval for purchases, and who can message or join the child online.

My advice from experience: set it up together with the child and explain why. When they understand the rules, there are fewer arguments later. Happy to help if anyone has questions.